Area Lions Club members gather for annual District 17-S convention

Area Lions Club members gathered this past weekend at Butler Community College for their 2013 annual convention for District 17-S.

Julie Clements/El Dorado Times

Area Lions Club members gathered this past weekend at Butler Community College for their 2013 annual convention for District 17-S.

Following a day of seminars, the members gathered Saturday evening for the District Convention Banquet.

After dinner, entertainment was provided by PCC Lion Michele Hufferd, who with the help of volunteers, sang L-I-O-N to the tune of YMCA.

After another song, guest speaker International Director Lion Ted Reiver talked to the group about the annual board meeting of the Lions International.

“It’s part of my duty to let you know what it’s like to be on the board of directors,” he said. “It’s a lot of work.”

They attend various meetings and sessions, as well as meet with people who want the Lions to get involved with their projects.

“Some meetings start as early as 7:30 and some start as late as 11 at night to get it all in,” he said.

If they get all of their work done, they have a family day at the end.

The last day of the meetings is a board meeting and they have representatives from all the countries that have Lions Clubs.

He talked about one meeting he attended in China and another in San Francisco.

“We work hard and they allow us to enjoy the work,” he continued.

Some of the work they do includes helping those in need.

Reiver talked about the famine in Ethiopia where the food sent to them was taken into the black market. The Lions Club was able to get more food to those in need.

Because of their work, the Lions have a permanent office at the United Nations, as well as Lions Day at the U.N. once a year.

“Everything we do is to make the world a better place one project at a time, one person at a time,” Reiver said. “We should all be proud to be Lions.”

Following the presentation, awards and recognitions were presented to those in attendance.

Lions from Southeast Kansas – the Cornerstone of Kansas Lions – conduct a variety of events annual to raise monies for donations to help the visually impaired, to positive and worthwhile community projects, and to youth programming. Lions clubs are groups of men and women who identify needs in their area and work together to fulfill those needs.

Local Lions are part of a global network of more than 1.3 million members in 45,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographic areas. To learn more, visit www.lionsclubs.org.